Tool for perforating glass tile



Jam.. 3l, 1950 .1. F. ISEMN @49,9%

TOOL FOR PERFRATING GLASS TILE Filed Oct. 18, 1946 IMI. a YYYYYYINVENTOR. f/EQHN F ISELIN,

TTFNEK Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

Workers in structural glass, commonly known as glass tile, have, formany years, been confronted With the problem of forming openings throughsuch tile without otherwise damaging the tile. The material in questionis used primarily as a wall covering, though not exclusively so; andperforations must be formed therein to permit the passage of `pipes andother plumbing fittings, electric Wiring, and fittings and xtures ofvarious characteristics. Usually, though not invariably, the necessaryperforations are produced in an individual tile by the glazier, justbefore he applies the tile to the position which it is to occupy on thewall. The necessary perforations will, of course, vary in size and shapeto accommodate the particular elements which must be passedtherethrough.

It has been customary to form such perforations by drilling apreliminary hole with a glass cutting drill, that hole being of smalldiameter, since a drilling operation upon the glass is an extremelydelicate one and is always accompanied by the risk of breaking orcracking the whole tile. After the preliminary hole is formed, theglazier enlarges it to the desired size and shape by chipping out theedge thereof with a chipping tool and hammer. It will readily beappreciated that this, too, is an extremely delicate operation whichfrequently results in damage and consequent loss of the piece of tileupon which the work is being performed.

I have devised a new tool, operating in an entirely novel fashion, forforming perforations through glass tile, or the like; the object of myinvention being to produce a mechanical device capable of operation toform perforations of the character here under considerationsubstantially completely without danger of damaging the glass tile orthe like being treated. A further object of the invention is to providea device capable of delivering a sharp blow to a piece of glass tile orthe like in a fashion such as to break out of the tile a conical piecewhose tip will be almost truly circular and of predetermined diameter. Afurther object of the invention is to produce such a tool capable ofdelivering not only the sharp, heavy blow above suggested, but alsolight chipping blows whereby the diameter of the hole in the irontsurface of the tile may be enlarged, and whereby the shape of said holemay be modied. Further objects of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention maybe embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andincludes the steps described and illustrated, attention being called tothe fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and thatchange may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and in thesteps described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is notviolated.

Fig. l is a. perspective view of a tool constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, parts being shown in section, withthe tool ready to deliver the breaking blow;

Fig. 3 is a similar elevation, showing the tool as it delivers thatblow;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of a modied form of tool; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of a further modication.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I haveillustrated a tool com prising a base Ill whose bottom surface ispreferably provided with a pad Il of felt or similar material. Supportedupon the base in a transverse position, intermediate the ends thereof,is a bracket I2 provided with laterally spaced upturned ears I3 and I4between which is supported a journal element I5. Journalled upon theelement l5 for swinging movement about `the axis thereof is an arm i6;and a coiled spring l1 is wrapped about the journal element, on oppositesides of the arms I6, the intermediate portion of said spring beingformed into a hoop I8 bearing upon the arm I6, and the opposite ends I9and 20 of said spring being extended rearwardly and anchored upon thebase HJ at 2| and 22.

Supported upon the forward end of the base l0 and in the .path of thearm It, is a yieldable buffer element 23 whose function will appearhereinafter. The free end of the arm I6 carries a hammer or strikerelement 24 whose depending end 25 may preferably be somewhat tapered, asshown. The parts are so proportioned and designed that, when the arm I6is at rest against the upper end of the buffer element 23, as shown inFigs. 1 and 5, the end 25 of the striker element 24 will be positionedbeyond the forward end of the base l0 and in va plane parallel with theplanes of the top and bottom surfaces of the base, and intermediate thesame. The buffer element, however, is yieldable, as stated. so that,when the arm I6 is fully retracted to the yposition of Fig. 2 and thenreleased, it will strike the buffer, under the influence of the springI1, with sucient force to permit the end 25 of the striker 24 to descendconsiderably below the plane of if the arm I6 is retracted in the mannershown in Fig. 2 and then released, the end 25 of the striker willdeliver a blow of such character as to break out of the glass tile asubstantially conical section, producing a substantially circular hole32 of almost precisely the diameter of the striker 2li, in the uppersurface of the tile 3|, and a substantially conical iiaring cavity 33 inthe body of the tile.

The buffer 23 acts, almost instantaneously after the blow is struck, toreturn the arm i to the position of Fig. 1, thus withdrawing the strikerfrom the cavity 33 and hole 32 and returning its end to a positionintermediate the planes of the top and bottom surfaces of the base l0.

Now, preferably, the tile 3l will be lifted and the glass fragmentsdriven out of the cavity will be removed from beneath the tile. eratorwill then shift the base l sufficiently to bring the striker 24 intoregistry with an edge of the hole 32, and will lift the arm lf3 only ashort distance away from the buffer 23, and then release it. The end 25of the striker 2li will thus be caused, under the influence of thespring Il, to strike a sharp, chipping blow against the edge of the hole32, which results in chipping away a very small section of that edge.The

operator continues this operation, moving theY base slightly, thenlifting and releasing the arm I5, and the hammer, upon each downwardmovement of the arm I6, chips away a small piece of the edge of thehole, and then is retracted from the hole by the buffer 23. The base itmay be thus moved about on the surface of the tile without scratchingthe tile because of the provision of pad Il.

Obviously, if a very large opening is required,

the operator will strike several hard blows against the tile with thetool, at points suitably spaced, and then will chip away the edges ofthe holes so produced to join all of such holes.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a modified form of tool .in which the rubberblock 23 is replaced by a `to the base to take the place of the buiTer23 or the coiled spring 28.

In actual use, I have found my tool to be extremely eiicient, and tosave enormous amounts of time. In addition, satisfactory work of thecharacter under `consideration can be done by relatively unskilled laborthrough the use of Imy tool, whereas a high degree of skill has al--ways been required heretofore in order to avoid The op- 5 breakage ofthe tile. Furthermore, my tool is admirably adapted to form openings inglass tile, or the like, even after the elements to be perforated havebeen installed on a wall. In this connection, the tool is particularlyuseful, since breakage of a tile, after installation, may causeirreparable damage. For instance, if a new plumbing or electrical outletis to be provided in a wall built a number of years earlier, it may beimpossible to match the elements of that wall in case one element isbroken. Perforating such an element by means heretofore known isextremely likely to break the element; whereas I have found that,through the use of my tool, the desired perforation can be madesubstantially without any danger of breakage of the tile.

I claim as my invention:

l. A glaziers tool comprising a base adapted to rest on the work and tobe readily shifted from point to point on the work, an element supportedupon said base for movement relative thereto, means resiliently urgingsaid element `toward movement in one direction relative to said base,yieldable buffer means carried on said base in the path of said elementfor yieldably limiting the movement of said element in said one direction, and striker means carried by saidy element and projecting ahead ofsaid element in said one direction, said buffer means normallysupporting said element with the projecting end of its striker meansdisposed above that surface of said base resting on the work butyielding, in response to movement of said element under the iniiuence ofsaid resilient means, to permit momentary projection of said strikermeans below said surface.

2. A glaziers tool comprising a having a i'lrst surface and a secondsurface, an element supported upon s zd second su'face for movementthrough a nited path assed entirely on one side of second surface, meansresiliently urging said element toward one end of its path adjacent saidsecond surface, yieldable buffer means carried on base and disposed inthe path oi said element and near said end thereof, striker meanscarried by said element and projecting ahead thereof as said ele-' mentmoves toward said path end, buifer means yielding, when struck by saidelement, to permit said striker to vproject past said first surface, andthen necovering promptly to return said striker to a position spacedfrom said first surface in the direction of said second surfe. e.

3. A glaziers tool comprising a base having a bottom surface and a topsurface, journal means supported above the top surface of base, an armsupported on journal means and swingH able thereabout, a yieldable buierprojecting above the top surface of said base in the path of said arm,spring means biasing said arm to ward engagement with said buffer, and astriker carried by said arm, the free end of said striker beingpositioned, when said arm is normally supported on said buffer, beyondthe limits of said base and in a plane parallel with said bottom and topbase surfaces and disposed between said surfaces.

4. A glaziers tool comprising a se having a bottom surface and a topsurface, ,io nalrneans supported above the top surface of base, an armsupported on said journal means and swing able thereabout, a yieldablebuffer projecting above the top surface vof said base in the path ofsaid arm, spring means biasing said arm toward engagement with saidbuffer, and a striker carried by said arm, the free end of said strikerbeing positioned, when said arm is normally supported on said buffer,beyond the limits of said base and in a plane parallel with said bottomand top base surfaces and disposed between said surfaces, said buiermeans being distortable, under the effect of a blow struck against it bysaid arm moving under the inuence of said spring, to permit said strikerend to move beyond the plane of said bottom surface.

JOHN F. ISELIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 10 Number Name Date Carr Feb. 21, 1882Rylands Aug. 17, 1886 Watson Aug. 25, 1891 Doane is Jan. 23, 1906 TrueFeb. 20, 1906 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 20, 1884France Oct. 27, 1554

